Leica M mount
The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the Leica M-series cameras and certain accessories up to the current film Leica M-A and digital Leica M10 cameras.
This lens mount has also been used by Epson, Ricoh, Minolta, Konica, Cosina Voigtländer, Rollei, Carl Zeiss AG and Rollei Fototechnic on some of their cameras.
Overview
The Leica M mount was introduced in 1954 at that year's Photokina show, with the Leica M3 as its first camera. The 'M' stands for Messsucher or rangefinder in German. This new camera abandoned the M39 lens mount in favour of a new bayonet mount. The bayonet mount allowed lenses to be changed more quickly and made the fitting more secure. Other innovations introduced by the M3 included a single window for the viewfinder and the rangefinder. With a double-stroke film advance lever. The M3 was a success and over 220,000 units were sold, by the time production ended in 1966. It remains the best-selling M mount camera ever made. The M3 uses 135 film, with the canister being loaded behind a detachable bottom plate. The M3 was followed by many other M mount cameras, released over 40 years, with many of the basic concepts remaining in these designs. With the introduction of the Through-the-lens metering in the Leica M5 and the digital Leica M8 being the most notable innovations since then.The lenses for the M mount were also introduced in 1954 and were based on the earlier M39 thread mount. All M mount lens are Prime lens. These lenses are divided by Leica based on their maximum aperture number. They are distinguished by their names:
| Name | f-number |
| Noctilux | or or or |
| Summilux | |
| Summicron | |
| Summarit | |
| Elmarit | |
| Elmar, Super Elmar | or or or |
| Summaron | or |
| Hektor |
M Mount camera bodies
Film cameras
Digital cameras
Professional
Entry
Monochrom
No display
| Image | Name | Year | Sensor | Notes |
| Leica M-D | 2016 – 2018 | 24 megapixels with CMOS sensor | No Rear LCD Screen The only control on the body is via the shutter speed and ISO dials | |
| Leica M10-D | 2018 – present | 24 megapixels with CMOS sensor | 7840 x 5184 Max resolution No Rear LCD Screen |
Increased resolution
| Image | Name | Year | Sensor | Notes |
| Leica M10-R | 2020 – present | 40 megapixels with CMOS sensor | 3" inch screen TFT LCD monitor The only control on the body is via the shutter speed and ISO dials |
Other manufacturers
- Epson R-D1 by Epson
- Minolta CLE by Minolta
- Hexar RF by Konica
- Bessa R2A, R3A, R2M, R3M, R4M and R4A by Cosina Voigtländer
- Rollei 35 RF by Rollei Fototechnic
- Recent Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera by Carl Zeiss AG
- Ricoh GXR by Ricoh
M mount lenses
Other manufacturers
- Minolta
- Carl Zeiss
- Cosina Voigtländer
- 7artisans
- TTArtisans
- Zenit M